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What is the connection between embroidery and Magick?
A spell that has a lot of rhymes can sometimes be more powerful than one that has none. The rhymes help you to focus your energy. The stitches work in the same way to help you focus your energy into the project. Just think, you are tranforming a plain, blank piece of fabric into a colorful new creation that is woven with your magickal intent. How much more powerful can that be?
For instance, to rid a household of disharmony, applique a large circular area with various scraps of bright colorful fabrics to symbolize the home. Then satin stitch a heavy black diagonal line through the center of the circle to symbolically destroy the conflict and friction.
To welcome home a new baby, quilt a crazy quilt of warm prints. Embroider the edges with stitches from the list below while focusing loving energies into the thread. This will aid the newborn in feeling comfortable and warm in the first few days after they are born.
A protection amulet for your car. Make a small pillow in the shape of your car (roughly). Embroider the edges with a blanket stitch of red thread while imagining your car encircled in a ball of white light, perfectly protected from any harm. Place the amulet in your car. Send it some energies each time you start your car and you it will stay charged. |
Here is a collection of Magickal Stitches you can use to enchant your projects with magick!
****Chain Stitch**** | | This stitch forms a series of tiny circles that connect in a continuous pattern. It is an excellent choice for working with the cycles of Nature and life. Also to symbolize the circle of birth, death, and rebirth. |
****Satin Stitch**** | | Although this stitch lies flat on the cloth, it forms a spiral by travelling around and around, over and under the cloth, and thus reflecting the cone of power. Because the stitch is the same on both sides it may also be used to represent Universal balance. "As Above, So Below!" Satin stitch is usually used to fill in large areas so it is great for prosperity magick. |
****Straight Stitch**** | | Straight stitches symbolize magickal pathways. Use two rows of alternating stitches to represent footprints, or a row of zigzagging stitches to symbolize a winding road. Lengthen stitches to represent great progress. Shorten them to signify caution. **Note: Backstitches- stitches used for outlining- also fall into the straight stitch category** |
| ****Blanket Stitch**** | | Some people hang a horseshoe over their front door to keep the luck from "running out," and the blanket stitch is the lucky horseshoe of the embroidery world. Because this stitch forms tiny lines shooting upward from a straight and solid edge, it works well for binding or sealing magick into any item. Try using it on the hems, cuffs, and necklines of ritual garments; on the edges of altar cloths; and on talismans of luck and protection. |
****Feather Stitch**** | | This stitch is composed of short lines that alternately zigzag outward. Magickally. It symbolizes pathworking, spiritual connection, and interaction with others. When used to embellish seams, it seals the magick of one piece and connects that magick to the other section. |
****Lazy Daisy Stitch**** | | Most often used in multiples to create a floral effect, this stitch is a good representation of Nature. Because the stitch forms a circle intersected by a straight stitch, it is also symbolic of the consummated marriage of the Maiden and the Green Man. |
****Interlaced Running Stitch**** | | In this stitch, a thread of one color winds through a line of running stitches, then the other side intertwines with a thread of a complimentary hue. Because of the perfect symmetry, it represents the balances of love and hate, light and dark, the right and left hemispheres of the brain, magickal energies, and the polarities of male and female. The intertwining threads also symbolize the mingling of ideas and thought. |
****Cross Stitch**** | | A depiction of the Solar Cross, the cross stitch is a God symbol. Though this stitch signifies joy, happiness, and success, it represents much more. Because two straight stitches of the same length cross each other exactly at midpoint to form the cross stitch, it works well in the efforts requiring balance, equality, or justice. The cross stitch is also effective for symbolizing duality of the Lord and Lady. |
****Herringbone Stitch**** | | A version of the cross stitch, the herringbone stitch differs in that the cross does not form at midpoint, but at the top third of the second. Use it when working with relationships or unions of any kind, from romantic to business. |
****Smyrna Stitch**** | | Another variation of the cross stitch, this beauty is sometimes known as the double cross stitch. It forms a good depiction of the eight Sabbats in the Wheel of the Year. |
| | Check out the book Magickal Needlework by Patricia Morrison (available from Llewellyn Publishing) for these and other great ways to enchant your crafts! | | | | |
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Magickal Stitches
...continued... Enchanting Your Needlework | | When you begin a new project, set the magickal intent by enchanting the first stitch. Use the chant below or construct one of your own.
"Oh piercing needle, that which gleams. [Your intention] is the reason for this spell. Stitch its purpose through this weave. And bind it thoroughly and well."
Of course, no enchantment would be complete without a binding to hold the magick. One way is to fix each portion when you finish with a strand of floss. As you tie the knot, chant something such as:
"I bind this portion of my spell. With steel and fiber tied so tight! Hold these handmade stitches well! Contain their magick and their might!"
Another binding method is to work each thread end into the others four times and chant:
"Maiden, Mother, Horned One, Crone: Let this work be bound with patience and love!" |
Magickal Number of Strands
| One- This is the number of self, the ego, and the personality.
Two- This number symbolizes balance and it's the number of strands most commonly used. Try using a darker and lighter shade of the same color together. This gives a rich effect to your work and is truly magickal in Universal symmetry. Also represents the duality of the Lord and Lady.
Three- "Ever mind the rule of three�? This number relates to the laws of Karma, that each act or deed (good or bad) is returned three times over to its sender. Use this number when invoking or easing life's lessons, or when working with the God and Goddess in their triple forms.
Four- Four strands work well in projects dealing with the change of the seasons and the topographical directions of East, South, West, and North. Also the number of solidity and support, use it in projects worked to add stability.
Five- The Elements- Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit- equal the number five. This number works well for projects dealing with money, travel, and adventure.
Six- Use six strands in matters of love and harmony, or for projects pertaining to home, family, and related responsibilities.
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Thread Protection Jar
| What do you do with all the thread ends from your projects? Make a protection charm with them by stuffing them into a small jar. Traditionally, the pieces of thread must be put into the jar one at a time. This in itself could be impossible, but for an embroidery artist, such a charm can be a natural byproduct of your work. Keep a small jar in your workbasket, and each time you snip a thread from your embroidery work, put it in the jar, with words such as:
"Thread charm protect from harm."
When the jar is completely full but not packed tightly, draw or paint a protective pentagram on the lid and put it on the jar. Then place it somewhere in your home where the mass of threads will act as a tangle net to ensnare any evil that is directed at you.
Check out the book Magickal Needlework by Patricia Morrison (available from Llewellyn Publishing) for these and other great ways to enchant your crafts!
***If you have any bits of folklore you would like to add
to our pages let us know!*** | |
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CHECK OUT THESE DIRECTIONS for some delightful and fun magickal stiches that will help make your project even more special. Stitches In every issue of STITCH with the Embroiderers' Guild, we illustrate and describe all the stitches used in the creative projects and workshops. Here on the web you will find just some of those projects and the stitches that they use. These are the basics - look in the magazine for exciting ways to explore and develop them... stitch index |
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